After clapping his hands together, the Doctor said, "Set the controls for random. Mystery tour. Outside that door could be any planet, anywhere, anywhen in the whole wide... Are you alright?"
With a quick turn of her head, Donna said, "Terrified. I mean, history's one thing, but an alien planet!"
With a mere turn of his own head, the Doctor told her, "I could always take you home."
Donna replied, "Yeah, don't laugh at me."
As he started to make his way over towards Donna, the Doctor said to her, "I know what it's like, everything you're feeling right now. Fear, the joy, the wonder, I get that!"
With a shake of her head, Donna asked him, "Seriously? After all this time?"
With a nod of his head, the Doctor told her, "Yeah! Why do you think I keep going?"
With a wide grin on her face, Donna said, "Oh! Alright, then, you and me both." While Annabelle simply blankly stared at Donna and the Doctor, Donna walked away from the Doctor as she yelled, "This is barmy! I was born in Chiswick. I've only ever done package holidays and now I'm here. This is... It's not... I mean, it's... I don't know, it's all sort of... I don't even know what the word is!"
Then– after opening and closing the door to the TARDIS– Annabelle could hear Donna say, "I've got the word. Freezing."
After watching the Doctor himself step out of the TARDIS, Annabelle heard him yell, "Snow! Ah, real snow. Proper snow at last. That's more like it. Lovely. What do you think?"
Donna said to him, "Bit cold."
Then the Doctor said, "Look at that view."
Donna replied, "Yup, beautiful, cold view."
Then the Doctor said to her, "Millions of planets, millions of galaxies, and we're on this one. 'Molto bene' bellissimo', says Donna. Born in Chiswick. Oh, you've had a life of work and sleep, tell and rent and tax, and takeaway dinners, all birthdays and Christmases, and two weeks' holiday a year, and then you end up here. Donna Noble, citizen of the Earth, standing on a different planet. How about that, Donna?"
However, instead of finding himself looking at Donna after turning his head, he found himself looking at Annabelle, who was only blankly staring at him with her head tilted to the side and her eyes narrowed.
After only staring at Annabelle for a couple of seconds, he asked her, "You doing alright over there, Annabelle?" When she only blinked at him, he asked her, "Are you still having those bad dreams of yours?"
In response to his second question, Annabelle's veins had come onto display, which got him to say, "Whoa. Is that anger that I'm seeing on that face of yours?" After glancing down at Annabelle's hands and seeing that they were now clenched into fists, he said, "It is."
Then– with a mere tilt of his head– he asked her, "But why are you angry? The only thing that I did was ask if you're still having those bad dreams of yours." When the angry look on her face had only seemed to worsen, he said to her, "It's not as if I know what exactly it is that you're dreaming about. The only thing I know is just how scared you look once you wake up from those dreams of yours, that's all."
After glancing down at her hands and seeing them slowly start to uncurl from fists, he asked her, "Are you okay?"
In response to hearing his question, Annabelle's hands had completely uncurled from fists, which got the Doctor to look back at Annabelle's face before his eyebrows had furrowed when he saw that she was blankly staring at him once more.
And before the Doctor even had the chance to truly piece together the change that he'd just seen in Annabelle, the door to the TARDIS had been opened and out came Donna, who took a step out of the TARDIS as she said, "Sorry, you were saying?"
With a nod of his head, the Doctor asked her, "Better?"
With the hood of the winter coat on her head, Donna said to him, "Lovely, thanks."
Then the Doctor asked her, "Comfy?"
Donna replied, "Yup."
Then the Doctor asked her, "Can you hear anything inside that?"
In turn, Donna said to him, "Pardon?"
While Annabelle only turned her head to look away from them, the Doctor said with a nod of his head, "Right, I was saying, citizen of the Earth..."
After looking up and seeing a rocket fly over their heads, Donna said, "A rocket! Blimey, a real proper rocket! Now, that's what I call a spaceship." After hitting the Doctor's arm, Donna told him, "You've got a box. He's got a Ferrari. Come on, let's see where he's going."
Instead of immediately walking after Donna, the Doctor turned his head to look back at the TARDIS and saw just a hint of a smirk on Annabelle's face before he frowned to himself and started to walk after Donna with Annabelle not that far behind him.
* * *
After slowly coming to a halt, the Doctor said, "Hold on. Can either of you hear that?" When Donna only started to look around herself, the Doctor said to her, "Donna, take your hood down."
In turn, Donna said to him, "What?"
With his eyebrows furrowed, the Doctor said, "That noise, it's like a song." Then– with a quick turn of his head– he yelled, "Over there!"
While Donna was quick to hurry after him and Annabelle only continued to move at a slow pace, Donna asked the Doctor, "What is it?"
As he went to crouch down in front of the creature that was being covered with snow, the Doctor said, "An Ood. He's called an Ood."
While Annabelle came to a halt just beside Donna, Donna said, "But its face..."
In turn, the Doctor said to her, "Donna, don't, not now. It's a he, not an it. Give me a hand."
As she went to crouch down beside the Ood, Donna said, "Sorry."
While Annabelle only stared down at the Ood with her head tilted to the side and her eyes narrowed, the Doctor said, "I don't know where the heart is. I don't know if he's got a heart. Talk to him. Keep him going."
It was then that Donna told the Ood, "It's alright. We've got you. Um, what's your name?"
It wasn't long after she asked that question that the orb in its hand had lit up before the Ood said, "Designated Ood Delta 50."
After grabbing onto the orb, Donna said into it, "My name's Donna."
With a shake of his head, the Doctor said to her, "No, no, no, no. You don't need to."
With a shake of her own head, Donna said, "Sorry. Oh, God." Then she gestured towards the Doctor as she said, "This is the Doctor. Just what you need, a doctor. Couldn't be better, eh?"
Then the Doctor said to the Ood, "You've been shot."
Delta 50 said, "The circle..."
With a shake of her head, Donna said, "No, don't try to talk."
Delta 50 told them, "The circle must be broken."
Then the Doctor asked, "Circle? What do you mean? Delta 50, what circle? Delta 50, what circle?"
It was then that Delta 50 had let out a roar as it picked up its head and quickly sat up from where it was practically lying on the ground.
In response to its actions and the red eyes that it now had, the Doctor quickly moved himself and Donna away from it, shortly before Delta 50 had let out a groan and its head had fallen down onto the ground once more.
After watching Delta 50 simply close its eyes, Donna said, "He's gone."
While Donna started to make her way over toward Delta 50, the Doctor said to her, "Careful."
It wasn't until she was crouched down beside Delta 50 that Donna put a hand onto its chest and said to it, "There you are, sweetheart." As she rubbed its head, she said, "We were too late."
Then Donna turned to the Doctor and asked him, "What do we do? Do we bury him?"
The Doctor told her, "The snow'll take care of that."
With a point of her finger, Donna asked him, "Who was he? What's an Ood?"
The Doctor said to her, "They're servants of humans in the forty-second century. Mildly telepathic. That was their song. It was his mind calling out."
With a shake of her head, Donna said, "Couldn't hear anything." As she went to stand back up, Donna said, "He sang as he was dying."
Then the Doctor said, "His eyes turned red."
Donna asked him, "What's that mean?"
The Doctor said to her, "Trouble. Come on." While the three of them walked away from the corpse of Delta 50, the Doctor told them, "The Ood are harmless. They're completely benign. Except the last time I met them, there was this force, like a stronger mind, powerful enough to take them over."
Donna asked him, "What sort of force?"
The Doctor replied, "Ah, long story."
In turn, Donna said to him, "Long walk."
Then the Doctor said, "It was the devil."
With a mere turn of her head, Donna said to him, "If you're gonna take the mickey, I'll just put my hood back up."
Then the Doctor said, "Must be something different this time, though, something closer to home." After taking a quick couple of steps towards the top of a hill, he said, "Aha! Civilization!"
* * *
From where she stood in front of one of the doors to the facility, the woman said, "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Ood Sphere. And isn't it bracing? Here are your information packs, with vouchers, 3D tickets and a map of the complex." While the very things that she had just listed were being handed out to the men and women in suits, the woman said, "My name's Solana, head of marketing. I'm sure we've all spoken on the vid-phone. Now if you'd like to follow me..."
It was then that the Doctor– with Donna and Annabelle close behind him– said to Solana, "Sorry, sorry! Late. Don't mind us. Hello. The guards let us through."
Solana asked him, "And you would be?"
The Doctor told her, "The Doctor, Annabelle Mikaelson and Donna Noble."
Then Donna said, "Representing the Noble Corporation, PLC Limited, Intergalactic."
In turn, Solana said to them, "Must have fallen off my list. My apologies. Won't happen again. Now then, Dr. Noble, Miss Mikaelson, Mrs. Noble, if you'd like to come with me?"
As he gestured between himself and Donna, the Doctor told her, "Oh, no, no, no, we're not married."
Then Donna said, "We're so not married."
With a shake of his head, the Doctor said, "No."
Then Donna said, "Never, ever."
In turn, Solana said to them, "Of course. And here are your information packs, vouchers inside." As she turned her back on them and started to walk inside of the facility, she said, "Now, if you'd like to come with me, the executive suites are nice and warm."
It was then that an alarm blaring was heard, which got the Doctor to ask, "Oh, what's that? That sounds like an alarm."
With a turn of her head, Solana said, "Oh, it's just a siren for the end of the work shift." While Annabelle only silently eyed Solana with her eyes narrowed, Solana turned to the others and said, "Now then, this way, quick as you can."
* * *
With a wave of her hands, Solana said, "As you can see, the Ood are happy to serve, and we keep them in facilities of the highest standard. Here at the Double-O, that's Ood Operations, we like to think of the Ood are our trusted friends."
With a mere turn of her head, Annabelle only narrowed her eyes once more as she heard a voice yell from outside of the facility, "You two, go left You two, follow me!"
Then Solana said, "We keep the Ood healthy, safe and educated."
Then she heard another voice yell, "Come on!"
And then a third voice was heard yelling, "Take him alive!"
Solana told them, "We don't just breed the Ood, we make them better. Because at heart, what is an Ood but a reflection of us? If your Ood is happy... then you'll be happy, too."
Then Annabelle heard the first voice say, "Mr. Halpen, this is a bit more than red eye, sir. This is something new. It's rabid, sir."
* * *
As she walked over towards the Ood, Solana said, "I'd now like to point out a new innovation from Ood Operations. We've introduced a variety package with the Ood translator ball. You can now have the standard setting." Then she turned to one of the Ood and asked, "How are you today, Ood?"
With a raise of the sphere that was attached to its body, the Ood said, "I'm perfectly well, thank you."
As she took a couple of steps forward, Solana said, "Or perhaps after a stressful day, a little something for the gentlemen." Then she turned to the second Ood and asked it, "And how are you, Ood?"
With a mere tilt of its head, the Ood said, "All the better for seeing you."
As she took a couple of steps forward, Solana said, "And the comedy classic option." Then she turned to the third Ood and said to it, "Ood, you dropped something."
With a tilt of its head, the Ood said, "D'oh!"
While Annabelle silently eyed each of the Ood with her eyes narrowed and her head tilted to the side, Solana said, "All that for only five additional credits. The details are in your brochures. Now, there's plenty more food and drink, so don't hold back."
It wasn't until Solana had started to walk away from them that the Doctor had put on his glasses and walked over to the controller pad that Solana had been using previously and started to mess around with it, while Donna made her way over towards the Doctor and Annabelle only silently stood in place as she listened to the heartbeats of the men and women that stood around her.
And while Annabelle's urge to tear into their necks only started to slowly grow the more she listened to their heartbeats, the Doctor said, "Ah, got it. The Ood Sphere. I've been to this solar system before, years ago. Ages. Close to the planet Sense Sphere. Let's widen it out." After the images of the screen had only zoomed out, he took a couple of steps closer to the screen as he said, "The year 4126. That is the Second Great and Bountiful Human Empire."
In turn, Donna asked him, "4126? It's 4126? I'm in 4126."
The Doctor replied, "It's good, isn't it?"
With a shake of her head, Donna asked him, "What's the Earth like now?"
With a mere tilt of his head, the Doctor told her, "A bit full, but the empire stretches out across three galaxies."
Donna said to him, "It's weird. I mean, it's brilliant, but back home, the papers and telly, they keep saying we haven't got long to live. Global warming, flooding, all the bees disappearing."
With a mere turn of his head, the Doctor said to her, "Yeah, that thing about the bees is odd."
Then Donna said to him, "But look at us. We're everywhere. Is that good or bad, though? I mean, are we like explorers, or more like a virus?"
The Doctor replied, "Sometimes I wonder."
Donna asked him, "What are the red dots?"
The Doctor told her, "Ood distribution centers."
In turn, Donna asked him, "Across three galaxies? Don't the Ood get a say in this?" Then she simply walked away from the Doctor and stopped in front of one of the Ood before she said to it, "Um, sorry, but..."
When the Ood didn't turn to face her, Donna lightly tapped it on the side of its chest before she said to it, "Hello. Tell me, are you all like this?"
With a mere tilt of its head, the Ood said, "I do not understand, miss."
Donna asked it, "Why'd you say 'miss'? Do I look single?"
With a mere raise of his eyebrows, the Doctor said to her, "Back to the point."
In turn, Donna said to the Doctor, "Yeah." Then she turned to the Ood and asked, "What I mean is, are there any free Ood? Are there Ood running wild somewhere, like wildebeest?"
The Ood told her, "All Ood are born to serve. Otherwise we would die."
Donna said to the Ood, "You can't have started like that." While the Ood had quickly lowered its head, Donna asked, "Before the humans, what were you like?"
With a raise of its head, the Ood said, "The circle."
The Doctor asked, "What do you mean? What circle?"
The Ood said, "The... The circle is..."
It was then that Solana said, "Ladies and gentlemen, all Ood to hospitality stations, please."
While the Ood went to do just that, the Doctor took off his glasses as he said, "I've had enough of this schmoozing. Do you fancy getting off the beaten track?"
Then Solana said to those that she'd gathered, "Now, if I can introduce you..."
In turn, Donna said to him, "'Rough Guide to the Ood Sphere'? Works for me."
As he started to walk away with Donna, the Doctor said, "Yeah." And while the two of them started to walk away from the group of men and women in suits, he said, "Come on, Annabelle. It's time that we find out some information all on our own."
In response to the Doctor's words, Annabelle only sped after Donna and the Doctor– leaving no one in the room the least bit aware that the three of them had even left the room to begin with.
* * *
From where they were standing at the top of one of the buildings that they had made their way up to the top of, Donna, Annabelle and the Doctor watched as many Ood walked across the snowy ground and over towards another part of the grounds that they were kept on.
It wasn't long afterwards that one of the Ood had fallen onto the ground, while the others had simply continued walking.
And in response to it falling, a man walked over towards the Ood and said to it, "Get up." When the Ood made no move to get up, the man cracked his whip onto the ground and said to it, "I said, get up."
With a mere turn of her head, Donna said, "Servants? They're slaves."
While the Ood had forced itself to stand back up from where it had fallen onto the ground, the man said to them, "March."
With a mere turn of his own head, the Doctor said, "Last time I met the Ood, I never thought, never asked."
In turn, Donna said to him, "That's not like you."
The Doctor told her, "I was busy. So busy I couldn't save them. I had to let the Ood die. I reckon I owe them one."
With a mere turn of her head, Donna said, "That looks like the boss."
While another couple of men and a single Ood walked across the snowy ground, the Doctor said, "Let's keep out of his way. Come on."
* * *
After taking a step into one of the buildings, the Doctor said, "Ood export." With a point of his finger, he said, "You see? Lifts up the containers, takes them to the rocket ships, ready to be flown out all over the three galaxies."
In turn, Donna asked him, "What, you mean these containers are full of..."
While Annabelle silently eyed each of the containers, the Doctor said, "What do you think?"
Then he opened one of the containers and took a step into it, shortly before Donna said, "Oh, it stinks. How many of them do you think there are in each one?"
With a mere turn of his head, the Doctor said, "A hundred. More."
Then Donna said, "A great, big empire built on slavery."
The Doctor told her, "It's not so different from your time."
Donna replied, "Oi, I haven't got slaves."
The Doctor asked her, "Who do you think made your clothes?"
In turn, Donna asked him, "Is that why you travel around with a human at your side? It's not so you can show them the wonders of the universe. It's so you can take cheap shots."
The Doctor said to her, "Sorry."
As she turned her attention back over towards the Ood, Donna said to him, "Don't. Spaceman." While the Doctor also turned his attention over towards the Ood, Donna asked the Ood, "I don't understand, the door was open, why don't you just run away?"
One of the Ood asked her, "For what reason?"
Donna told the Ood, "You could be free."
With a mere tilt of its head, the Ood said to her, "I do not understand the concept."
Then Donna asked the Doctor, "What is it with that Persil ball? I mean, they're not born with it, are they? Why do they have to be all plugged in?"
With a mere turn of his head, the Doctor asked, "Ood, tell me, does the circle mean anything to you?"
It was then that each and every one of the Ood in the container had said, "The circle must be broken."
Then Donna said, "Oh, that is creepy."
Then the Doctor asked them, "What is it? What is the circle?"
Once more, the Ood said, "The circle must be broken."
The Doctor asked them, "Why?"
The Ood told him, "So that we can sing."
It was then that Annabelle heard a voice say, "Mr. Halpen, I'm in Ood Cargo. I've found your unwanted guests. Go!"
Then an alarm blaring could be heard, which got the Doctor to say, "That's us. Come on."
* * *
With his fingers wrapped around Annabelle's wrist, the Doctor forced Annabelle to run along with him and Donna as they tried to make their escape from– what the man from before had said to be– the Ood Cargo.
And while the Doctor continued to drag Annabelle along with him, Donna came to a halt in front of a door and yelled, "Doctor! There's a door!"
It wasn't long afterwards that Annabelle heard a voice yell, "Don't move!"
It was then that the Doctor had come to an abrupt halt and asked himself, "Where've you gone?"
And while Annabelle ripped her arm out of the Doctor's grasp and only rubbed the part of her wrist that he'd grabbed onto, another voice could be heard yelling, "Stay where you are!"
Then Donna yelled, "Help me!"
And while the Doctor simply ran away from the men that were running after him, Annabelle only silently eyed them before she sped away from them.
Then she heard another voice say, "Keep her here for now."
Then Donna yelled, "Help me! Get off me!"
And while Annabelle silently eyed each of the men that were still looking for her and the Doctor, she could hear the Doctor ask, "Donna, where are you?"
Then she heard the first voice say, "All guards withdraw."
In turn, one of the guards said, "Sir?"
The first voice told them, "I said, withdraw. Keep to the perimeter and find the other woman. I've got this one." Then a clanging was heard before she could hear the man say, "I've always wanted to do this."
It wasn't long afterwards that Annabelle could see a metallic claw quickly moving over the tops of the containers that the Ood were in and in the direction of where– she assumed– the Doctor was in at that exact moment.
Then she heard the same voice say, "Container locked."
And while Annabelle only tilted her head as she listened to the Doctor's rapid footsteps as he ran from the metallic claw, Donna asked the Ood that she was trapped inside of a container with, "Can you help me?" After seeing one of the Ood raise its head and its eyes turn red, Donna said to it, "Oh, no, you don't."
As she backed up towards the door, Donna asked, "What have I done? I'm not one of that lot. I'm on your side." While the Ood started to slowly make their way over towards where Donna was standing, Donna said to them, "Stay where you are. That's an order. I said, stay."
When the Ood didn't do as she said, Donna yelled, "Doctor! Doctor!"
It was then that the Doctor tripped over a few cylinder bins and fell onto his back, which resulted in the metallic claw to come down towards him, only to come to a halt just after Annabelle had sped over towards the Doctor and pulled him out of the reach of the claw that was no longer moving.
While the Doctor silently looked between the metallic claw and Annabelle herself with furrowed eyebrows, Annabelle heard Solana say, "You heard the instructions. Mr. Halpen wants them alive."
Then she heard Donna yell, "Doctor, get me out! Doctor, get me out of here!"
And while Annabelle silently walked after the Doctor and made sure to keep herself out of sight of the other men, the Doctor said to the two men that were forcibly walking him out of the Ood Cargo, "If you don't do what she says, you're really in trouble. Not from me, from her."
Then the same man that was standing in front of the Doctor said, "Unlock the container."
Once the door to the container had been opened, Donna quickly made her way over towards the Doctor as she said, "Doctor."
While Donna had simply wrapped her arms around the Doctor, the Doctor said, "There we go. Safe and sound."
In turn, Donna said to him, "Never mind about me. What about them?"
Then one of the Ood pressed its orb into the face of one of the men, which resulted in the man letting out a scream, while the man that stood in front of Donna and the Doctor yelled, "To the left! Fire!"
And while the men repeatedly shot at the Ood, the Doctor and Donna took this as their chance to run away with Solana close behind them.
Then another container opened, which got the same man to yell, "Shoot to kill!"
And while the men did just that, Annabelle quickly sped after Donna and the Doctor– leaving the men to remain inside of the cargo with the Ood.
It wasn't long after the three of them had normally run out of the cargo that Annabelle could hear Donna say, "If people back on Earth knew what was going on here..."
In turn, Solana said to her, "Don't be so stupid. Of course they know."
Donna asked her, "They know how you treat the Ood?"
Solana told her, "They don't ask. Same thing."
Then the Doctor said to Solana, "Solana, the Ood aren't born like this. They can't be. A species born to serve could never evolve in the first place. What does the company do to make them obey?"
Solana said to him, "It's nothing to do with me."
With a mere raise of his eyebrows, the Doctor asked her, "Oh, what, 'cause you don't ask?"
Solana told him, "That's Dr. Ryder's territory."
The Doctor asked her, "Where is he? What part of the complex?" When Solana only looked down at the papers that he was holding, the Doctor told her, "I could help with the red eye. Now, show me!"
With a point of her finger on the paper, Solana said, "There, beyond the red section."
Then the Doctor said to her, "Come with me. You've seen the warehouse. You can't agree with all this. You know this place better than me. You could help."
After several seconds of just staring at him, Solana tilted her head and yelled, "They're over here! Guards! They're over here!"
And while the Doctor and Donna simply ran away from Solana, at least four men started to run after them as one of the men said, "Male and female suspects escaped. West ridge corridor. Whereabouts of the second female is still unknown."
It wasn't until Solana had attempted to move away from where the Doctor and Donna had just stood that she raised her watch and said into it, "Mr. Halpen, I found the Doctor. He's heading for Ood Conversion."
In turn, Mr. Halpen said to her, "On my way."
Then– after lowering her watch– Solana went to quickly move away from where she'd been hiding from the Ood after their attack on one of the guards, only to stop and suddenly come to a halt when she found herself staring up at Annabelle Mikaelson, who was staring down at her with her head tilted to the side and her eyes narrowed.
With wide eyes, Solana only continued to stare up at Annabelle as she started to wonder just how Annabelle Mikaelson managed to get to her without her even hearing Annabelle's footsteps.
And because of her curiosity on the matter, Solana went ahead and asked Annabelle just how she did that.
However, instead of receiving a verbal response, the only thing that she received was the mere sight of Annabelle's veins coming onto display.
After gulping to herself, Solana started to back herself away from Annabelle as she asked, "What do you want?" When Annabelle didn't respond to her and only slowly walked towards Solana, Solana yelled, "What do you want?!"
In response to Solana's yelling, Annabelle only tilted her head just a bit more to the side before she sped away from Solana– leaving Solana to repeatedly blink to herself after seeing Annabelle's veins come onto display and then proceed to see Annabelle disappear from right in front of her.
* * *
After coming to a halt in front of a door with his sonic screwdriver in hand, the Doctor asked Donna, "Oh, can you hear it? I didn't need the map. I should have listened."
After the door had opened and both Donna and the Doctor had stepped into the building, the Doctor had gone to close the door, only to stop when Annabelle had sped through the open door and came to a halt just beside Donna.
After watching the Doctor close the door to the building that they were in, point his sonic screwdriver at the pad just beside it and then see sparks come out of it, Donna asked the Doctor, "Does that mean we're locked in?"
In turn, the Doctor said to her, "Listen. Listen, listen, listen, listen."
Then– after leading Annabelle and Donna through the building and down a staircase– the Doctor came to a halt and said, "Oh, my head."
Donna asked him, "What is it?"
The Doctor replied, "Can't you hear it? The singing."
Then he moved the flashlight he was carrying around the inside of the room before it stopped onto a cage of Ood, which got the Doctor to switch on a light and each of the Ood to turn their heads and look over at where the three of them were standing and staring right at them.
After the Doctor had turned off the flashlight, each of the Ood started to move themselves even further back into the cage that they were kept inside of, which got Donna to say, "They look different to the others."
The Doctor told her, "That's because they're natural-born Ood, unprocessed, before they're adapted to slavery, unspoiled." After taking a couple of steps towards the cage that they were kept inside of and crouching down in front of it, the Doctor said, "That's their song."
With a shake of her head, Donna said, "I can't hear it."
The Doctor asked her, "Do you want to?"
After turning her head to face the Doctor, Donna said to him, "Yeah."
With a raise of his eyebrows, the Doctor told her, "It's the song of captivity."
With a nod of her head, Donna said to him, "Let me hear it."
In turn, the Doctor said to her, "Face me."
Then Annabelle watched as the Doctor carefully placed his hands onto Donna's face, which was a clear contrast of how the Master had done it.
From what Annabelle could see, the Doctor was being careful about it and trying not to hurt Donna.
The Master, on the other hand, didn't care if he hurt Annabelle when he would enter her mind.
In fact, he enjoyed the pain-filled groans and screams that would come from her, while he forced his way into her mind.
And he wasn't gentle about how he would put his fingers on her face or even the sides of her head for that matter.
Instead, he would harshly grab at her face and then proceed to– rather painfully– press the tips of his fingers onto her face before forcing himself into her mind.
To Annabelle, it always felt as if he was trying to leave an imprint of his fingers on her face from just how much pressure he was putting onto her face every single time that he did it.
And it was because of this knowledge that Annabelle had on just how the Master would change things in her mind or even force himself into her mind that she took a couple of steps back from the Doctor, while the Doctor said to Donna, "Open your mind, that's it. Hear it, Donna. Hear the music." And while Donna choked back a sob as she turned her attention over towards the Ood, the Doctor turned to Annabelle and said to her, "Annabelle?"
While Annabelle had unknowingly pulled her hands away from her own face and away from the spots in which the Master would harshly grab at her before forcing himself into her mind, the Doctor asked her, "Would you like to hear it as well?"
When Annabelle only took a couple of more steps away from it, the Doctor let out a sigh once he saw just terrified Annabelle looked at the mere thought of letting the Doctor– much less anyone else for that matter– anywhere close to the inside of her mind.
And while the Doctor made a mental note to ask Annabelle about how she was really doing and to tell her that he wanted an actual answer out of her and not just her blinking at him all of the time like she'd been doing since before the Master's refusal to regenerate, a single tear had rolled down the side of Donna's face as she continued to stare at the Ood.
And while one of the Ood only stared at Donna as the Ood's song of captivity had continued to play inside of her mind, Donna said to the Doctor, "Take it away."
The Doctor asked her, "You sure?"
With a shake of her head, Donna told him, "I can't bear it."
Then– just like before– the Doctor gently put his hands on the sides of Donna's head and closed his eyes, while Annabelle only continued to keep her distance away from the Doctor and those hands of his.
It wasn't until the Doctor had lowered his hands that Annabelle took a step forward towards them, while Donna said, "I'm sorry."
In turn, the Doctor said to her, "It's okay."
After looking back over at the Ood, Donna asked him, "But you can still hear it?"
With a mere raise of his eyebrows, the Doctor said to her, "All the time."
Then Annabelle turned her head to look away from them when she heard the voice of– who she assumed to be– Mr. Halpen ask from just outside of the building, "Come on, what's the hold-up?"
Then she heard a voice say, "It's the experimentation lab. Maximum security. He's fused the system."
Then Mr. Halpen said, "Well, don't just stand there! Get the bolt cutters. Rip that door off! Solana, go back to the reps. I don't want any of them wandering off and seeing this. And get them away from the Ood, just in case. Hurry up!"
In turn, Solana said to him, "Yes, sir."
Then she turned her attention back over towards the Doctor when he pointed his sonic screwdriver at the lock to the cage before the door opened.
And while the two of them had stepped into the cage with Annabelle not that far behind them, Donna said, "They're breaking in."
The Doctor replied, "Ah, let them." Then he crouched down in front of the Ood and asked one of them, "What are you holding? Show me."
When the Ood only turned its head to look over at the Doctor, the Doctor said to it, "Friend." When the Ood only raised its head, the Doctor gestured between himself, Annabelle and Donna as he said, "Annabelle, Doctor, Donna. Friend. Let me see. Look at me. Let me see. That's it."
While the Ood continued to move itself closer to them, the Doctor said to it, "That's good. Go on."
After raising its hands, the Ood let the other one move aside, which allowed them to see– what looked like– a small brain in its hand.
With a shake of her head, Donna asked, "Is that..."
The Doctor said, "It's a brain. A hindbrain. The Ood are born with a secondary brain. Like the amygdala in humans, it processes memory and emotions. You get rid of that, you wouldn't be Donna anymore– just like Annabelle would no longer be, well, Annabelle. You'd be like an Ood, a processed Ood."
In turn, Donna said to him, "So the company cuts off their brains."
Then the Doctor said, "And they stitch on the translator."
Donna said to him, "Like a lobotomy. I spent all that time looking for you, Doctor. I guess I thought it was so wonderful out here." After another thud was heard, she said, "I want to go home."
After the sound of a door opening could be heard, the three of them heard a voice say, "They're with the Ood, sir."
After standing up and closing the door to the cage, the Doctor asked the approaching men, "What are you gonna do, then? Arrest me? Lock me up? Throw me in a cage? Well, you're too late. Ha!"
* * *
While Annabelle stared down at the handcuffs that were forced onto her hands and the chains that were keeping her tied up to a pole in the room with a scowl on her face, Mr. Halpen asked them, "Why don't you just come out and say it? Photo activists."
In turn, the Doctor said to him, "If that's what Friends of the Ood are trying to prove, then yes."
Mr. Halpen told him, "The Ood were nothing without us, just animals roaming around on the ice."
The Doctor replied, "That's because you can't hear them."
Mr. Halpen said to him, "They welcomed it. It's not as if they put up a fight."
With a mere tilt of her head, Donna said to him, "You idiot. They're born with their brains in their hands. Don't you see? That makes them peaceful. They've got to be because a creature like that would have to trust anyone it meets."
With a nod of his head, the Doctor said to her, "Oh, nice one."
In turn, Donna said to him, "Thank you."
As he took a couple of steps towards Donna and the Doctor, Mr. Halpen told them, "The system's worked for two-hundred years. All we've got is a rogue batch. But the infection is about to be sterilized." Then he raised his watch and asked, "Mr. Kess, how do we stand?"
Then they heard Mr. Kess say, "Canisters primed, sir. As soon as the core heats up, the gas is released. Give it two-hundred marks and counting."
Then the Doctor asked Mr. Halpen, "You're gonna gas them?"
In turn, Mr. Halpen said to him, "Kill the livestock. The classic foot-and-mouth solution from the olden days. Still works."
* * *
As he quickly walked back into the room, Mr. Halpen said, "Change of plan."
Dr. Ryder said to Mr. Halpen, "No reports of trouble off-world, sir. It's still contained to the Ood Sphere."
In turn, Mr. Halpen said to him, "Then we've got a public duty to stop it before it spreads."
Then the Doctor asked them, "What's happening?"
With a turn of his head, Mr. Halpen told him, "Everything you wanted, Doctor. No doubt there'll be a full police investigation once this place has been sterilized, so I can't risk a bullet to the head. I'll leave you to the mercies of the Ood."
While Mr. Halpen started to walk away from him and Donna, the Doctor asked him, "Mr. Halpen, there's something else, isn't there? Something we haven't seen."
In turn, Donna asked the Doctor, "What do you mean?"
The Doctor said, "A creature couldn't survive with a separate forebrain and hindbrain. They'd be at war with themselves. There's got to be something else. A third element, right?"
With a smile on his face, Mr. Halpen said, "And again, so clever."
The Doctor told him, "But it's got to be connected to the red eye. What is it?"
After taking a couple of steps towards the Doctor, Mr. Halpen said to him, "It won't exist for very much longer. Enjoy your Ood."
Then– just like that– each of them had walked out of the room, which got the Doctor and Donna to try and break out of the handcuffs, while Annabelle simply squeezed her eyes shut and tried to ignore the sound of the taunting that she could hear from the inside of her head.
* * *
While Annabelle had frantically– and rather violently– did what she could to try and break herself free of the chains and handcuffs that were holding her in place and parts of her mind kept taking her back to the months in which she'd been held captive and tortured by the Master and she repeatedly yelled 'no' as loud as she possibly could, Donna said to the Doctor, "Well, do something. You're the one with all the tricks. You must have met Houdini."
In turn, the Doctor said to her, "These are really good handcuffs."
Donna replied, "Oh, well, I'm glad of that. I mean, at least we've got quality."
Then the sound of a door opening could be heard, which got both Donna and the Doctor to immediately stop moving when they saw that three red eyed Ood were standing in the room with them.
Annabelle, on the other hand, was far too busy dealing with the sound of the Master's voice and his laughter growing with each passing second inside of her head to pay much attention to the fact that there were three Ood in the room with them.
* * *
While he watched one of the Ood start to walk over towards where Annabelle was still desperately trying to get herself out of the chains with her eyes squeezed shut, the Doctor said, "Uh, Annabelle, Doctor, Donna. Friends."
Then Donna said, "The circle must be broken."
Then the Doctor said, "Annabelle, Doctor, Donna. Friends!"
Then Donna yelled, "The circle must be broken!"
And while the Ood continued to walk towards where the three of them were trapped in different parts of the room, the Doctor and Donna continued to yell the very same words at the Ood over and over again.
It wasn't until the orbs of the Ood were mere inches away from the faces of the Doctor, Annabelle and Donna that the Ood had suddenly stopped moving for a moment before the lights in their orbs had gone out and the Ood had bowed each of their heads and then each of their heads had proceeded to shake.
It wasn't until the shaking of their heads had ceased that one of the two Ood that stood in front of Donna and the Doctor had said, "Annabelle, Doctor, Donna. Friends."
Then the Doctor yelled, "Yes! That's us! Friends! Oh, yes!"
* * *
While Annabelle kept her eyes squeezed shut and her hands pressed into the sides of her head as she tried to force the sound of the Master's taunting and laughing out of her own head, the Doctor released Annabelle's wrist as he stared down at a single and much larger brain before he said, "The Ood brain. Now it all makes sense. That's the missing link. The third element binding them together. Forebrain, hindbrain and this. The telepathic center. It's a shared mind. Connecting all the Ood in song."
It was then that the sound of chains rattling could be heard, shortly before Mr. Halpen said, "Cargo. I could always go into cargo." As he made his way over towards where the three of them and a single Ood were standing, he told them, "I've got the rockets. I've got the sheds. Smaller business. Much more manageable. Without livestock."
With a wave of his hand, Dr. Ryder said, "He's mined the area."
In turn, Donna said, "They're gonna kill it."
Then Mr. Halpen said, "They found that thing centuries ago beneath the northern glacier."
With a tilt of his head, the Doctor said, "Those pylons."
Then Donna said, "In a circle. The circle must be broken."
Then the Doctor said, "Dampening the telepathic field. Stopping the Ood from connecting for two-hundred years."
With a point of his finger, Mr. Halpen said, "And you, Ood Sigma, you brought them here. I expected better."
In turn, Ood Sigma said to him, "My place is at your side, sir."
While Ood Sigma walked over towards him, Mr. Halpen said, "Still subservient. Good Ood."
With a mere turn of her head, Donna asked, "If that barrier thing's in place, how come the Ood started breaking out?"
The Doctor told her, "Maybe it's taken centuries to adapt, subconscious reaching out."
Then Dr. Ryder said, "But the process was too slow, had to be accelerated." Then he turned to Mr. Happen and said to him, "You should never have given me access to the controls, Mr. Halpen. I lowered the barrier to its minimum. Friends of the Ood, sir. It's taken me ten years to infiltrate the company. And I succeeded."
With a nod of his head, Mr. Halpen said to him, "Yes. Yes, you did."
Then he shoved Dr. Ryder over the railing and down towards the brain, which resulted in him landing in the middle of it and then proceeding to be absorbed deep into its center.
After turning away from the brain, Donna said to Mr. Halpen said to him, "You murdered him."
In turn, Mr. Halpen said to her, "Very observant, Ginger." While the Doctor pulled Donna away from the aim of the gun, Mr. Halpen said to them, "Now, then. Can't say I've ever shot anyone before. Can't say I'm gonna like it. But, uh, it's not exactly a normal day, is it? Still..."
It was then that Annabelle opened her eyes and glanced between the backs of the Doctor and Donna before she started to slowly raise her head to look back up at them.
And while Annabelle slowly raised her head and started to stare over at Mr. Halpen with her veins on display and a scowl on her face, Ood Sigma asked him, "Would you like a drink, sir?"
After letting out a chuckle, Mr. Halpen said to Ood Sigma, "I think hair loss is the least of my problems right now, thanks."
After taking a step in front of Donna, Annabelle and the Doctor, Ood Sigma said, "Please have a drink, sir."
In turn, Mr. Halpen said to Ood Sigma, "If... If you're gonna stand in their way, I'll shoot you, too."
Once more, Ood Sigma said to him, "Please have a drink, sir."
It was then that Mr. Halpen asked, "Have... Have you poisoned me?"
Ood Sigma told him, "Natural Ood must never kill, sir."
Then the Doctor asked Ood Sigma, "What is that stuff?"
Ood Sigma said, "Ood graft suspended in a biological compound, sir."
With a hand pressed against the side of his head, Mr. Halpen asked Ood Sigma, "What the hell does that mean?"
Then the Doctor said, "Oh, dear!"
Mr. Halpen yelled, "Tell me!"
With a shake of his head, the Doctor said, "Funny thing, the subconscious. Takes all sorts of shapes. Came out in the red eyes' revenge, came out in the rabid Oods' anger, and then there was patience. All that intelligence and mercy focused on Ood Sigma. How's the hair loss, Mr. Halpen?"
After Mr. Halpen reached towards the back of his head and pulled a couple of strands of his own hair in front of himself, he asked Ood Sigma, "What have you done?"
With a shake of his head, the Doctor told him, "Oh, they've been preparing you for a very long time. And now you're standing next to the Ood brain. Mr. Halpen, can you hear it? Listen."
After only glancing over towards the brain, Mr. Halpen asked, "What have you... I'm not..."
When Mr. Halpen's hands only continued to heavily shake, Ood Sigma stepped out of the way and allowed Annabelle, Donna and the Doctor to truly watch as Mr. Halpen dropped his gun before he raised his hands up to his head and let out a groan as he lowered his head almost to the point of where it could reach his knees.
Then the three of them watched as Mr. Halpen pulled off the skin on the top of his head and revealed the head of an Ood before more and more tentacles started to come out of his open mouth.
It wasn't until all of the tentacles had come pouring out of his mouth that he raised his head and in place of the Mr. Halpen's face was the face of an Ood, which got Donna to ask the Doctor, "They... They turned him into an Ood?"
With a nod of his head, the Doctor said, "Yup."
With a nod of her own head, Donna said, "He's an Ood!"
With yet another nod of his head, the Doctor said, "I noticed."
Then Mr. Halpen let out a groan before the hindbrain came pouring out of his mouth and landed directly into his hands.
It was then that Ood Sigma told them, "He has become Ood-kind, and we will take care of him."
After letting out a sigh, Donna said with a mere shake of her head, "It's weird. Being with you, I can't tell what's right and what's wrong anymore."
The Doctor replied, "It's better that way. People who know for certain tend to be like Mr. Happen." Then– after some beeping was heard– he said, "Oh!"
Then– after turning off the source of the beeping– he said, "That's better." Then he quickly made his way over towards the controls as he asked, "And now, Sigma, would you allow me the honor?"
With a nod of its head, Ood Sigma told him, "It is yours, Doctor."
In turn, the Doctor yelled, "Oh, yes!" After turning his attention over towards the controls, he said, "Stifled for two-hundred years, but not anymore. The circle is broken. The Ood can sing!"
It wasn't long after the electricity around the brain had disappeared that the gnawing pain that Annabelle had felt in her head from trying to push the taunting voice and the ongoing laughter of the Master out of her head was soon enough replaced by the sound of a melodic singing that seemed to be growing louder and louder inside of her mind, shortly before the Doctor had let out a laugh and Donna yelled, "I can hear it!"
And while the song continued to play inside of her head, Annabelle couldn't help but look around herself with her eyes watery and her eyebrows furrowed as– for the first time in months– the sound of the Ood's singing had completely overcome the constant taunting of the Master that had been tormenting her ever since the brief moment of annoyance that Annabelle had felt after Donna's choice of refusing the existence of vampires.
And as a result of no longer hearing the sound of the Master's taunting voice inside of her head because of the Ood's song that was still pouring into her head, Annabelle couldn't help but close her eyes and let out a sigh when– instead of seeing the Master's light brown eyes– she saw nothing in particular and could do nothing but focus on the increasingly loud volume of the Ood's song that continued to play inside of her head.
* * *
While Annabelle only had a hint of a smile on her face as the song of the Ood continued to play inside of her head, the Doctor said, "The message has gone out. That song resonated across the galaxies. Everyone heard it. Everyone knows. The rockets are bringing them back. The Ood are coming home."
In turn, Ood Sigma said to him, "We thank you, Annabelle, Doctor, Donna, friends of Ood-kind. And what of you now? Will you stay? There is room in the song for you."
With a mere tilt of his head, the Doctor said, "Oh, I... I've sort of got a song of my own, thanks."
It was then that Ood Sigma told him, "I think your song must end soon."
The Doctor asked Ood Sigma, "Meaning?"
Ood Sigma said to him, "Every song must end. Even Annabelle's own song must end in her own time, should she desire it."
While Donna only glanced over at Annabelle and her tear-stricken face, the Doctor said with a nod of his head, "Yeah." Then he turned to Donna and asked her, "Um, what about you? You still want to go home?"
With a shake of her head, Donna said to him, "No. Definitely not."
With a turn of his head, the Doctor told Ood Sigma, "Then we'll be off."
While each of the Ood had raised their hands, Ood Sigma said to him, "Take this song with you."
Donna said to Ood Sigma, "We will."
Then the Doctor said, "Always."
From where she was leaned up against the TARDIS, Annabelle quietly whispered to herself, "Forever."
Due to the fact that neither Donna nor the Doctor could hear Annabelle's whispered word, they only kept their eyes on Ood Sigma, who said to them, "And know this, Annabelle, Doctor, Donna, you will never be forgotten. Our children will sing of Annabelle, the Doctor, Donna, and our children's children, and the wind and the ice and the snow will carry your names forever."
And while the Doctor and Donna only turned their backs on Ood Sigma and made their way back over towards the TARDIS, Annabelle couldn't help but let out another sigh as the song of the Ood continued to play in the entirety of her own mind– a song that was far more peaceful than the constant beat of the drums that the Master had forced her to listen to during the months in which he had been holding her hostage and torturing her.
And because of the fact that the song of the Ood was far more beautiful than anything that Annabelle had ever heard in over a thousand years, she couldn't help but allow a few more tears to roll down the sides of her face– simply due to just how much peace that the song of the Ood was giving her.
It was a form of peace that she had never truly known during her life and she was sure that it was a feeling of peace that she would never truly feel again in her life and– during the short-limited time in which she was free from the torment that mere echoes of the Master would force her to have to deal with, months after his death– she didn't know if she truly did want to go without this feeling of peace for the rest of her life.
And with that thought in mind, Annabelle only let out a sigh and offered Ood Sigma a smile before she stepped into the TARDIS herself and– not long after– she, the Doctor and Donna were soon enough to make their departure from the planet and onto their next adventure.
An adventure that Annabelle was sure wouldn't allow her to feel the peace that she felt when the Ood's song was playing in her head.